NetElixir: Hi Robin! Welcome back! Can you share a bit about yourself?

Hey there! My name is Robin Dreeke, retired Chief of the FBI, Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, spy recruiter, and bestselling author, including author of my upcoming book, Unstoppable Alliances.

NX: So, what does Rethinking Innovation mean to you?

It’s all about the fuel that drives innovation, alliances of trust and safety. In my talk, I’ll be sharing some of the key principles from my book, like focus, the Keys to Communication and Mastery. 

NX: How have you been inspired to change or innovate during the past two years?

Over the past few years, I’ve been inspired to change and innovate by paying attention to world around me and embracing advancements in technology and self-awareness. It’s about staying ahead of the wave and not letting it pass us by.

NX: What are your views about AI and how should brands leverage AI?

When it comes to AI, it’s important for brands to leverage it as a collaborative partner. Like any new resource, it’s crucial to understand its benefits, limitations, and how to use it as a collaboration rather than relying on it completely. 

NX: Final question. What is one key takeaway you want attendees to use from your presentation?

In my presentation, I want attendees to take away the importance of allies in both personal and professional endeavors. This includes forming alliances with AI as the world moves forward. The key lies in our ability to focus and to be present, communicate effectively, use and afford golden keys, and strive for mastery rather than just relying on our natural talent. And in the new world of AI and deep fakes, we must remember the principles of trust but verify. By holding on to this principle, we can navigate the challenges and risks that come with these advancements.

Join NetElixir’s X=Experience

We still have a few spots left for our exclusive X=Experience: Rethinking Innovation conference, held in Princeton at the end of September. Join Robin’s presentation on Unstoppable Alliances to dive into the world of unstoppable alliances and how they apply in the exciting realm of AI and deepfakes. It’s going to be an unforgettable experience!

Our 10th annual X=Experience also boasts keynote speakers Sheena Iyengar and Adam Alter.

Further Reading

• What Makes NetElixir’s X=Experience A World-Class Event?
• X=Experience: Celebrating 5 Years
• ABC’s of NetElixir

The post Meet The Speaker: Robin Dreeke at NetElixir’s 10th Annual X=Experience appeared first on NetElixir.

Academia

It might be unorthodox to start off describing an e-commerce growth agency with academia. We can’t help that it comes first alphabetically. But, academia is an important tenet of our organization, especially regarding our annual X=Experience. First held in 2013, the X=Experience bridges the gap between industry and academia. This unique event encourages attendees from all industries to rethink their growth strategies and reimagine the future possibilities.

Bose Founders

Udayan and Tulika Bose founded NetElixir in 2004 with a simple mission: to help businesses succeed online. As the company developed over the years, the idea of helping remained at the heart of the company’s initiative while the NetElixir family grew beyond the two founders. 

Consumer Insights

At the forefront of any good marketing strategy is a deep understanding of the end consumer. At NetElixir, we pride ourselves on sharing our customer insights that help you find, engage, and win the right customer for your brand. Our unique customer insights help brands know the right touchpoints and the right moments to engage their prospects.

Delight

Internally, and externally, we thrive off delighting our clients and employees. Using our analytical and sociable skill sets to drive results, share insights, celebrate every win, we separate ourselves from the rest by delighting our clients and team members!

Empathy

We seek to humanize every online interaction, to remember the person behind the e-commerce metrics of sales, clicks, and impressions. Being empathetic empowers our core mission of simply asking how we can help.

FACES

Our annual FACES report, which launches each February, dives into the behaviors of high-value customers across several key retail categories. We seek to understand how these customers’ online shopping behaviors evolve throughout the year by comparing pre-holiday and holiday behaviors. Our unique customer benchmark report helps brands better understand their customer personas to allow them to create more effective marketing campaigns.

Growth 

We wouldn’t be an e-commerce growth agency without our core business solution: growth. Although our speciality is e-commerce, we focus on both holistic brand and individual growth. We drive sustainable and predictable results for our clients. We help small businesses to grow and evolve, as well, through LXRMarketplace, our suite of free tools, and LXRGuide, our DIY paid search management program. Internally, we empower our team members to grow their skill sets, experience, and mindset. By adopting a fail faster attitude, we encourage team members to try something new and see what they learn — whether it’s from success or failure. Our growth mindset is shared by every team member

Browse through our case studies to learn how we empowered e-commerce growth across industries.

High-Value Customer

Our customer analytics technology, LXRInsights, introduces your brand to your high-value customer — brand loyalists who spend 3-5x more than average customers. We say no to winning only average customers by helping brands find, engage, and win high-value customers. LXRInsights maps the unique purchase journey of high-value customers so every marketing dollar goes further.

Innovation

Being one of the fastest growing private digital marketing agencies in North America would not be possible with constant innovation. Staying novel and relevant relies on continuous experimentation, on adopting a fail-faster mindset, and being committed to growth and delighting our customers. We are constantly innovating to learn something new and offer the best solution to our clients.

Joycons

A memorable part of our brand imagery is our Joycons. Each team member’s headshot gets recreated by our Design team in the retro 8-Bit style of vintage video games. It adds a unique identifier to our team members. 

Check out our Team Page to see all our Joycons!

KEEP Philosophy

Knowledge. Empathy. Enablement. Passion. The KEEP philosophy underscores each and every action of Team NetElixir. By following these tenets, we know that our relationships and actions have a meaningful impact. Our responsible marketing helps brands meet new customers and show customers something they will love.

Learning Tuesdays

At our heart, NetElixir is a learning organization. We encourage team members to attend webinars and events and try their hand at skills that will expand their own knowledge base and further their career. Each Tuesday, our entire global team gets together to learn something new, as shared by another team member. The discussions sparked by our Learning Tuesdays session influence our innovations and research.

Metrics

As a fanatically analytical company, we love analyzing data. We rely on real-time, data-driven insights to drive results and make strategic decisions. By constantly analyzing and aggregating consumer insights and e-commerce metrics, we can stay updated and ahead of the latest online shopping trends.

NetElixir

We have been relentlessly ambitious since day one, when we had only our values and our dreams to guide us onward. We wanted our brand to be an elixir, a magical potion for all internet-based businesses. Hence the blended NetElixir, where our e-commerce magic aims to solve any problem our clients face and enable brands to achieve any growth goals they can dream up.

Onward!

Onward is our unofficial motto, shared most often as a signature by our CEO and Founder, Udayan Bose. The term is inspired by Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz. The simple word sums up NetElixir’s optimistic and celebratory approach to growth, in that we strive to continually improve and learn.

Princeton

NetElixir’s headquarters are in Princeton, NJ — a hometown we share with our inspiration, Albert Einstein. During our annual X=Experience, we join Princeton Tours for a walk around Princeton to retrace the footsteps of Einstein. Home is where the heart is and our heart is rooted in Princeton.

As a Princeton-based digital marketing agency, we are currently the only NJ agency to be invited into Google’s Leadership Circle.

Quality

One of our core values is an obsessive focus on quality. We take immense pride in our work and delivering high-quality solutions and results to our clients. Team NetElixir makes the impossible possible through their dedication and commitment to quality. 

Reimagine

We cannot rely on the status quo of today. Instead, we must forge new opportunities for ourselves by gathering inspiration from a myriad of sources and listening to one another. Using today’s insights and yesterday’s learnings, we can reimagine tomorrow.

Search Marketing

When NetElixir started in 2004, we were a search marketing agency with the tagline making search work. We specialized in paid search before branching out to the full suite of solutions available today. Over the years, we have expanded our skill set and are constantly adding new solutions to ensure we can solve whatever problems our clients are facing. 

We have evolved our tagline to Search Marketing Redefined to capture the myriad ways people search for and find information online. Wherever and however your customer search online, NetElixir can help your brand own the search bar.

Trend-Mapping

While we don’t have a crystal ball that sees into the future (it would be neat though), our experts are adept at reading the latest real-time data and analyzing trends. Our trend-forecasting helps our clients strategize better, but remain nimble and open-minded to seize any opportunity that comes their way. Our trend-forecasting is particularly insightful regarding our holiday e-commerce sales calendar, released annually in early September to help marketers plan their holiday strategies. 

Download our retail trend predictions ebook to help keep your brand #trending.

Udaan Foundation

Being kind and giving back drives a deeper purpose for our business. The Udaan Trust Foundation is how NetElixir gives back to the community and helps make the world a brighter place. Udaan’s mission is to support the higher education of underprivileged girls in India so that they can have a chance to pursue their dreams. Currently, we are sponsoring the higher education of eighteen girls and seek to add an additional three girls each year.

Our first group of girls have already graduated and earned job placements in top companies and we are so proud of all they have accomplished so far!

We have an ambitious goal of supporting 50 girls by 2025. Help us reach our goal by donating now!

Value

Authentic brand values connect customers with the brands they love. Our core values of respecting everyone, delighting every customer, championing diversity, and focusing on quality are the NetElixir difference.

Winning Formula

As a fanatically analytical company, we rely on formulas to drive growth and chart sustainable, predictable results. Revenue relies on quality website traffic and being able to influence the prospect’s behavior once on the site. However, a crucial variable of our winning formula is the ability to fail faster. We champion innovation and experimentation to try something new and encourage our team to fail. Failures ultimately lead to more successes. 

You!

The X= symbol is more than just an abbreviation of the company or our logo. We consider ourselves a fanatically analytical company, where we try to solve for X. X can be any number of client issues our solutions alleviate. But, the most important aspect of our success formula is you! The energetic, helpful, passionate people who make up Team NetElixir are the reason we have had so much success. 

Year of Raising the Bar

2023 is the year of raising the bar for NetElixir. After a year of building, learning, and growing, we are ready to push ourselves to new heights and move forward, relentlessly, into our new chapter. We take the lessons from years past and look forward to a brighter, more optimistic future.

Zealous 

Passion and drive underlies all that we do at NetElixir. Our energetic team zealously helps our clients succeed, our company grow, and each other learn.

Originally published Jan. 21, 2022. Updated for new year and new initiatives. 

The post ABCs Of NetElixir appeared first on NetElixir.

We aim to bridge the gap between academia and industry, in a space where everyone is a student again. We are here to rethink innovation in order to create a brighter future. 

At the end of September, we held our 9th annual event. While the cadence of our event remained similar to years prior, our speakers and guests made this year truly magical. 

Day One of The X=Experience

Day One of our X=Experience event is structured around Albert Einstein. As NetElixir’s icon of inspiration, we seek to emulate Einstein’s endless curiosity. 

We host a cocktail hour and welcome dinner at the historic Nassau Inn in Princeton, NJ. Day One is an opportunity to network with fellow attendees and learn about Princeton’s history and Einstein’s local legacy.

Following our cocktail hour and full course dinner, we are joined by the Princeton Tour Company’s energetic and knowledgeable guide for a walking tour that literally retraces Einstein’s steps around the university and surrounding town. We pass by Einstein’s house, a memorial bust, and more in our efforts to preserve his memory and influence.

We take a retrospective look at the past to understand its implications in the present moment before looking towards the future during our main conference day.

Day Two: Main Conference Day

NetElixir’s 9th Annual X=Experience: Rethinking Innovation kicked off on the early morning of  Friday, September 30th at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. Grounds for Sculpture is a breathtaking and interactive art museum that brings new and classic artworks to life in unexpected ways. This gorgeous venue is the perfect background to gather today’s thought leaders and feel inspired to build a better tomorrow.

I must also note that the warm and positive energy that your group as a whole brought to experience was very impressive. As one who works with a lot of organizational teams, it is very rare and inspiring.” – Callie Lasch, Grounds for Sculpture

NetElixir’s Founder, CEO, and resident Einstein, Udayan Bose kicked off the event with a welcome note that dived more into the why behind the X=Experience and the behind-the-scenes efforts from all our team members that brought us to this moment. 

“I found that there was a bit of a gap in terms of what is happening in the industry and what is being taught and researched in academia as well. So the aspiration really was to build an un-conference which tries to bridge the gap between industry leadership and academia,” Udayan summarizes. 

The success of X=Experience relies on its pillars of fostering ideation by encouraging participants to ask questions and have discussions, initiating inspiration to help leaders think of something new, and cultivating lasting friendships.

One such friendship brought us to where we are today: that of Udayan Bose and our first keynote speaker, Jay Steinfeld. He was NetElixir’s first customer back in 2005 when he was the CEO of Blinds.com and we are honored he could join us this year.

How To Disrupt Others Before They Disrupt You By Jay Steinfeld

During his presentation, Jay told the story of how he built Blinds.com from the ground up, starting in his home in Texas, and culminating in Home Depot acquiring it in 2014 for millions. But Jay’s story is not one of strictly good business acumen; it’s a personal story of endurance, spirit, and hard work. Jay’s message is one of continual learning: “You can learn from every person, every company, every interaction you ever had.”

To grow, Jay projected his brand as big as he could envision. He relied on a foundation of strong leadership that he championed every day. Blinds.com cultivated an environment of collaboration, generosity, and open communication that allowed everyone to freely share their thoughts, learnings, and questions.

Jay’s four principles of business are:

• Evolve continuously
• Experiment without fear of failure
• Express yourself
• Enjoy the ride!

Jay taught us that we can rethink innovation by working to bring out the best in each other.

How To Change: Adapting for a Post-Pandemic World by Katy Milkman

Katy Milkman is a James G. Dinan professor at The Wharton School, best-selling author, and expert on the science of behavior change. Her book, How To Change: The Science of Getting From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be, delves into strategic methods for identifying and overcoming common barriers to change; during our X=Experience event, Katy explored three of these barriers: impulsivity, getting started, and confidence.

In order to make progress, first identify the obstacle that is in your way. Then, tailor your solution to overcoming that obstacle rather than strictly focusing on the goal. Changing the nature of your daily objectives is important to achieving long-term success. If you enjoy what you are doing, you’re more likely to follow through with it. People are more open to change with the sense of a clean slate and an opportunity to do better than we did in the past. 

Three key lessons Katy shared on how to change are:

• Efficiency is not the precursor to driving change; fun is!
• We mentally align with fresh starts, like the start of a new year, quarter, or week.
• Giving advice, rather than asking for help or receiving advice, changes our perspective around challenges and makes it easier to for to see solutions to similar problems.

Katy helped us rethink innovation by welcoming change.

Our Future Forward Segments

We introduced a new presentation topic this year in the format of our Future Of segments. First, Parag Shah, the VP of Omnichannel Merchandising for The GIANT Company, spoke on the Future of Grocery. 

Insights into the future of grocery include:

• Omnichannel shopping is increasingly becoming the norm, as consumers adopt physical and digital channels to complete their trips
• Retailers are embracing AI and rethinking robotics to elevate the in-store experience and increase efficiency
• People’s relationship with food has evolved significantly throughout the pandemic, as more opt to eat meals at home
• Because people shop for groceries on a regular basis, they can get quickly acclimated to new technology and retail initiatives launched by the grocery industry

Should we even call engines like Google a search page anymore? NetElixir’s Udayan Bose and Google’s Agency Development Manager Billy McLellan spoke on the Future of Search, highlighting that:

• Search is evolving beyond a simple word to an entire experience that encompasses a visual and video showcase, omni-buyers and hundreds of digital touchpoints, and highly personalized feeds.
• Advancements in AI are changing how brands interact with customers in every context.
• The modern customer is highly empowered and their path-to-purchase is more complicated than ever before.

Parag, Udayan, and Billy helped us rethink innovation by leading us into the future.

Innovation in the Small: Learnings from Consumer and Retail by David Bell

David brings his history as a Wharton professor, as a researcher into new consumer and retail company operations, and as an investor, both on a personal level and on a professional level through Idea Farm Ventures that he founded. The ‘small’ from David’s presentation means attention to detail. Everyday consumption is something that fuels the world, so finding a balance between online and offline ensures success in an omnichannel world.

The retail experience is rapidly changing to encompass new consumer expectations. Throughout his experience, David has seen the following:

• The physical aspect of shopping cannot be understated, but it needs to evolve alongside other digital initiatives.
• Information and fulfillment will start to happen in native environments to be more accessible to the everyday shopper.
• The internet is the world of the extreme, so attention to detail and curating experiences for your customers will help you provide a cohesive brand identity.

David helped us rethink innovation by challenging us to hone in on the small details.

Udaan Trust – Flight Foundation

The X=Experience event is more than just a meeting of great minds; all proceeds from the X=Experience go to support our non-profit, the Udaan Trust. Udaan’s mission is to create a world where no young girl is afraid to dream big. 

Thanks to your generosity, we raised over $4,000 and can extend our scholarship to eight girls in 2023!

NetElixir’s 10th Annual X=Experience

Save the Date! We will host our 10th Annual X=Experience on September 28-29, 2023. Stay tuned for further announcements as we expand our community and aim to make this the biggest event yet.

Once you are inside this [conference], you are in a classroom. Whatever your titles, your company, you leave them outside. But here you are a student.” – Udayan Bose

The post What Makes NetElixir’s X=Experience A World-Class Event? appeared first on NetElixir.

Artificial Intelligence

A set of tools, including machine learning, algorithms, and data modeling, which can be used by marketers to analyze customer data and optimize content with the goal of improving key metrics such as campaign performance and customer conversion.  

AOV (average order value)

A measure of how much a shopper generally spends when they purchase from a site. 

B2B (business-to-business)

Commerce transactions which occur when one business sells a product to or performs a service for another business.   

BOPIS (Buy Online Pick-Up In-Store)

A purchasing method and retail strategy in which a customer makes their purchase via an e-commerce site or app and retrieves their purchase at a nearby store, reducing shipping costs and returns.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors to an e-commerce site who arrive and then leave the site without clicking through to other pages. 

Click-through rate

The ratio of the number of clicks on to the number of impressions of a particular ad.

Conversion Rate

The ratio of the number of visitors to an e-commerce site who made a purchase to the number of total visitors.

CPC (cost per click)

The amount paid for each consumer click on an ad in a PPC (pay-for-click) marketing campaign.

Cyber 5

The shopping period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. 

Cyber 6

The recent phenomenon of the Thanksgiving shopping period extending through Giving Tuesday.

FACES

NetElixir’s annual customer insights report that introduces you to your industry’s high-value customers. This report charts the customer journeys of high-value customers across key retail industries to understand how their online shopping behavior changes throughout the year.

First-party data (1P data)

Customer information collected directly by and owned by a business. 

HVC (high-value customer)

A customer who spends more than average customers, makes large purchases from the brand frequently, and is important to the business’s bottom-line. We find that a high-value customer is likely to spend three to five times more with a brand than average customers.

Latency

The amount of time between when a customer visits a site for the first time and when they make a purchase.  

LTV (lifetime value) and CLV (customer lifetime value)

A metric that indicates how much money a customer spends with a brand throughout their lifetime.

LXRInsights

NetElixir’s proprietary customer intelligence platform, which segments customers into high-value, mid-value, and low-value customers. The platform tracks a customer’s paths to purchase from first point of attribution to final purchase to help businesses understand the nuances of each customer segment.

LXRGuide

NetElixir’s paid search management solution for small and midsize businesses, which uses 25+ optimization algorithms built on the experience of over 7 million hours of successful, hands-on paid search campaign management to help marketers grow their businesses.

LXRMarketplace

NetElixir’s hub of free web-based applications to help small businesses and freelancers improve their online marketing management and campaign performances and learn more about the functions of their e-commerce sites.

Machine learning

The use of systems and algorithms that can automate improvement to performance metrics by analyzing data and adjusting accordingly. 

Omnichannel

A business strategy that involves seamless transition for customers between a variety of points of contact, including e-commerce sites, dedicated mobile apps, advertisements, and various social media platforms.

PPC (pay-per-click)

A type of advertising in which a business pays for each click made on an ad.

ROAS (return on ad spend)

The ratio of revenue earned as a result of advertising to the amount of money spent on advertising.

SEO (search engine optimization)

The improvement of the content of an e-commerce site and its associated marketing channels in order to increase the number and quality of site visitors. 

SERP (search engine results page)

A website viewed after entering a search term into Google, Yahoo, Bing, or other search engines, on which certain sites are ranked via algorithms that determine how relevant the sites are to the search term.

Third-party cookies

A piece of data added to a customer’s browser by a domain other than the one they are visiting that can be retrieved later. Third-party cookies are the standard method of collecting, distributing, and using customer data which is facing major changes as blocking cookies become the norm.

YoY (year-over-year)

The comparison of data from a point in time in a particular year to data from that same point in time in the previous year. 

The post NetElixir’s Glossary of Digital Marketing Terms appeared first on NetElixir.

Our mission is simple: we aim to create a world where no young girl is ever afraid to dream big for herself. 

Donate Now

A Gift of Hope

As of the beginning of the 2021 school year, we have fifteen girls enrolled in the Udaan Foundation. The aspirations of these girls range from software engineer to sports coach to doctor to agricultural specialist. They also have personal dreams to gift a house to their parents and to be independent. We seek to empower them with the education and tools they need to fight the challenges they face in their everyday lives.

Udayan and Tulika started the Udaan Trust after visiting a class of tenth graders at Moosapet Government School for Girls in Hyderabad, India in December 2015. There, Udayan asked a question: which of the girls felt confident that they could pass their upcoming exams? Only a few raised their hands. He asked if they didn’t have to worry about funding their education and received additional support and resources, how many would then feel confident to pass their exams? More hands went up.

Our Udaan Girls

Swathi was one of those girls and soon became one of our first enrollees. Now, Swathi is set to graduate within the coming months and has received two job offers at leading organizations. We could not be more proud of all her accomplishments! Her success is the validation of team NetElixir’s faith in the power of doing good and helping others.

Shortly after receiving her job offers, we met with Swathi to congratulate her and reflect on her journey. Meet Swathi:

“I am confident that their most difficult days are behind Swathi’s family,” Udayan shares in his own reflection on Udaan’s impact. “I am proud that we took that single step back in 2015 to start Udaan — it very well may have transformed not just a girl’s life, but is also likely to be instrumental in pulling her family out of poverty.

I am immensely thankful to all NetElixians who have contributed as Udaan volunteers. They have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make magic happen for our 15 girls — their passion, commitment, and efforts have given Swathi and her family a chance to pursue a better life! I am also grateful to the many who donated to the Udaan Foundation for believing in us and our cause. Most of them have not even seen Swathi or any of our other girls and yet they believed in what we were doing and contributed generously. A hat tip to the donors for their kindness and support. This is our first success milestone — it emboldens us to pursue our mission with greater drive and zest and help many more like Swathi pursue their dreams.”

We’re not just supporting the academic achievements of these girls, but their personal ones as well. Another enrollee, Haritha, had been selected for the 2021 Handball Nationals. Haritha’s talent is hers alone, but her journey is a testament that a little support can go a long way.

We are proud of all our girls, their lofty dreams, and their achievements.

International Women’s Day 2022

An African adage says, “If you educate a boy, you train a man. If you educate a girl, you train a village.” The Udaan Foundation seeks to uplift underprivileged girls so that they can uplift their communities by sharing their knowledge, ambitions, and spirit.

The Udaan Foundation is one of many seeking to enable lasting social change. We seek to eradicate child marriage by empowering these girls with resources and means to finish their education and choose their own paths. 

Together as a global community, we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women while marking a call to action for accelerating equality on International Women’s Day and all year long. Join NetElixir in honoring the women in your life by supporting the Udaan Trust – Flight Foundation. Your donation will directly support the education, books, and school supplies needed to support and empower these talented, young girls as they fight to #breakthebias and pursue their dreams.

Team NetElixir gathered to create bracelets for our Udaan girls. Though a small gesture, we want the bracelets to symbolize how we are always here to support the girls and help them realize their dreams. We are tied together in the unified mission to better their lives and the lives of all women.

How You Can Help The Udaan Foundation

The role of the Udaan Foundation shifted from providing scholarships and mentorships to our girls. We also host women’s hygiene classes in schools to teach girls the essentials of creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for themselves.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the world saw an overnight shift from offline to online modes of learning and communication. This transition was harder for the students in rural India who faced a disruption in their academic careers. The Udaan Foundation helped set up remote learning resources and support so girls could continue their education. We supplied laptops and internet access to each of our girls. We partnered with a leading hospital in Hyderabad to distribute free COVID-19 vaccinations to our students and their families. Additionally, we helped cover the costs of provisions, everyday essentials, and even housing. We offered online mentoring on programming, interview skills, and campus recruitment drives so that their career trajectory wouldn’t be disrupted further. 

We started Udaan with a goal to help 10 girls by 2020 and two years back we increased it to 25 by 2025. Now, we want to help 100 girls by 2030.

We can achieve our goal of improving the lives of girls only with your support. 

Donate Now

Further Reading

• Why We Started The Udaan Foundation
• Getting To Know Swathi

The post Celebrating International Women’s Day Starts With Empowering Girls appeared first on NetElixir.

While the past nearly 24-month period has been difficult and complex for all, it has also been remarkable in many ways. We saw resilience in the face of adversity, the power of human ingenuity, and a shift in priorities to learn what we truly value most. We learned to evaluate alternative courses of action with an open mind to prioritize what really matters (and, what does not). As always, we found the determination and drive to keep moving forward. It is my firm belief that these traits will continue to grow in importance in the years to come and will define success both at a personal and professional level.

2022 is the year for us to Build Forward Momentum, capitalizing on our learnings and innovating new solutions. Together, we will continue to drive meaningful connections and work to improve ourselves. 2022 will be an inflection point. Retailers need to revisit every obstacle that occurred during each quarter this year, analyze their solution and re-evaluate if said solution will continue to be the most viable — and successful — option.

The transition into the new year brings forth a set of unique changes and opportunities. I am an optimist and it is my belief that the post-Omicron era will bring forth exciting opportunities for those who have an open mind and who do not fear failure. 

Trends For 2022

The past two years have shown that predictions and forecasts are ever-changing amid an uncertain and rapidly-evolving landscape. While it is important to have a sense of what the future may hold, maintaining a steadfast fixation on predictions can blind us to unexpected opportunities. We do not know what we do not know.

Instead, we should focus on building the necessary skill set to help us succeed, no matter the conditions. We need to create solutions to be ready to meet our customers where they are and help them grow. Agility and innovation are crucial now more than ever.

Download our guide on what brands should do to succeed in 2022 to propel your business in the right direction in the new year. 

Refresh with some of our most insightful articles from 2021:

• Understanding Customer Lifetime Value
• The Importance of Authenticity and Values for Brand Trust
• 15 Key Tips for Investing In Your Digital Marketing Strategy
• Crafting an Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy
• Navigating Apple’s iOS Privacy Updates

The post A Few Words On What To Expect In 2022 appeared first on NetElixir.

“There was no hierarchy — there was no client, there was no CEO. Everyone was a student,” NetElixir’s Founder and CEO, Udayan Bose, says in describing the creation of the first X=Experience in 2013.

Who better to help us become a student again and spark free-flowing conversations than leading professors sharing their latest research? NetElixir prides ourselves on the quality of our speakers and their presentations and we’re happy to invite Professor Michele Gelfand of Stanford University, to our 8th Annual X=Experience: Rethinking Innovation. Because we believe that when great minds meet, magic happens.

Professor Gelfand will be presenting The Secret Life of Social Norms. She will discuss:

• How the strength of social norms reflects cultural differences
• The distinction between tight and loose cultures and how they influence our own behavior
• Why moderation is key to forging deeper connections with one another

Rethink Innovation with Michele Gelfand at NetElixir’s X=Experience.

Interview with Michele Gelfand

NetElixir sat down with Professor Gelfand for a teaser of what we can expect from her presentation at our live event. She shared:

Hi, I’m Michele Gelfand, a professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and I’m really excited to be speaking at the upcoming NetElixir event on October 1st! My talk is going to be about how to understand the deeper cultural codes that are driving our behavior that’s based on my book Rule Makers, Rule Breakers. 

A key difference that differentiates people around the world and across history is whether we are tight or loose. Tight groups notice rules, they try to avoid mistakes, and they like a lot of structure and order. Loose groups don’t notice rules a lot, are more risk-taking, and don’t mind ambiguity. Neither is worse or better, but both have important strengths and liabilities and it turns out that this distinction is affecting everything from our nations to our neurons. And you’ll find out why and, most importantly, how to harness the power of these codes to be more effective at work and at home. See you soon!

Read More

• Meet Jonah Berger: Keynote Speaker at X=Experience
• NetElixir’s 8th Annual X=Experience Event
• X=Experience: 5 Years

The post Meet the Speaker: Michele Gelfand at X=Experience appeared first on NetElixir.

Since 2013, NetElixir has created an event that curates thought-provoking presentations, sparks stimulating conversations, and forms wonderful friendships. With the goal to bridge the gap between academia and industry, the X=Experience was born. 

Because we could not host this event in person in 2020, attendees have highly anticipated the return of this event. As always, NetElixir prides ourselves on the quality of our speakers and their presentations, so to kick off the X=Experience comeback, we’re excited to announce that Professor Jonah Berger, of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, NYTimes and WSJ best-selling author, and 2021 Wobi Keynote Speaker, will be joining our 8th Annual X=Experience: Rethinking Innovation.

Professor Berger will be presenting Contagious: Why Things Catch On. He will discuss:

• The secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission
• Six basic principles that can affect what makes something popular or viral
• How to leverage the power of influence to craft contagious content

Rethink Innovation with Jonah Berger, exclusively at NetElixir’s X=Experience.

Interview with Jonah Berger

NetElixir sat down with Professor Berger to discuss some of his thoughts on innovation prior to our live event. 

NetElixir: Welcome, Professor Berger! We’re excited to have you join our 8th Annual X=Experience event!

Professor Berger: Hi, I’m Jonah Berger! I’m a Marketing Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and I’m excited to speak at the upcoming NetElixir event on October 1st. 

NetElixir: What is one key takeaway you want attendees to use from your presentation?

Professor Berger: I’m going to talk about a problem that all of us have, whether we’re in marketing or sales, whether we’re internal within an organization trying to create innovations — we all have something that we want to change. Marketing and sales want to change their customer’s or consumer’s mind, leaders want to transform organizations, employees want to change their boss’s mind, start-ups want to change industries, non-profits want to change the world. But change is really hard. Often we push, we pressure and cajole, and nothing happens. So the question is could there be a better way? 

So at my talk, I’m going to talk about a new method for creating change from my recent bestseller, The Catalyst: How To Change Anyone’s Mind, and how we can apply that to become better change agents in all aspects of our lives.

NetElixir: What is a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook? 

Professor Berger: In terms of a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook, I would say something called the status quo bias. Companies tend to be really focused on what they’re good at, and what they’ve already achieved, and what they’re good at doing, but that makes them risk-aversed, makes them wary of trying new things. And so by understanding the status-quo bias, we can overcome its barriers and make change more likely. Sometimes we have to cannibalize ourselves rather than allowing other start-ups to come in and sort of eat our lunch. We have to be smarter and create innovation from within.

NetElixir: What does Rethinking Innovation mean to you?

Professor Berger: In terms of the importance of rethinking innovation, for me, well innovation is an age-old idea, right? Almost all companies want to be more innovative, almost all companies want to be more change-oriented, but it’s really tough to do. As part of my session, I’ll talk about why innovation happens and why it doesn’t and how we can all make innovation more likely by understanding why it does and doesn’t work.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Read More

• NetElixir’s 8th Annual X=Experience Event
• X=Experience: 5 Years
• X=Experience Welcomes Christain Rudder

The post Meet Jonah Berger: Keynote Speaker at X=Experience appeared first on NetElixir.

The X=Experience event was inspired by the TED conference. We wanted to host our own forum that connected academics and industry leaders through a communal networking and brainstorming session unlike any other. Every X=Experience is uniquely curated with a distinct purpose, which allows attendees to be fully immersed in the knowledge collaboration. Hosted in Princeton, NJ, the home of the world-renowned physicist Albert Einstein, we are able to continue Einstein’s legacy of curiosity and learning. All details, from the attendees to the venue to the cuisine to the caliber of speakers is what makes this event so unique.

We pride ourselves on the quality of our speakers and their inspiring and thought-provoking presentations that challenge us to think differently about what we have always done. In the past, we have heard from leading thinkers from the fields of strategic management, consumer behavior, innovation, and digital media to inspire new thoughts, introduce new perspectives, and, of course, kindle new innovations that fuel our growth strategies for the future.

The X=Experience event brings together the best in academia and industry leadership to inspire exceptional ideation and conversation in an intimate setting. We held the first X=Experience in 2013 and are proud to keep the tradition going for our 8th annual event, X=Experience: Rethinking Innovation, live September 30th to October 1st, 2021.

Introducing the First X=Experience

During our first X=Experience in 2013, the goal was to create a Collaborative Learning Environment through exclusive invites to over thirty retail executives for nearly five hours of insightful presentations, networking, and knowledge-sharing. The idea was to create an intimate, elite event where ideas and insights could be freely shared and openly discussed. Since NetElixir’s founding in 2005, the team has had ample opportunities to meet with retail executives and gain deeper insights into their e-commerce business and growth strategy. We’ve overcome challenges, helped create phenomenal successes, and learned so much to better support our customers — but there is more to learn beyond the agency setting.

The X=Experience became a chance for leaders and academics of various backgrounds to learn directly from each other and share their experiences to create a brighter future.

In reflecting upon the first event, Udayan says, “We thought, why not create an event that facilitated peer-to-peer knowledge and insight sharing. An event where the CEO of one company could share what had worked for her with the CMO of the second company and vice versa — and both benefited from this knowledge-exchange process. Our annual seminar has been created with the sole purpose of fostering a collaborative learning experience. We really want this to be an event where retailers learn from each other and have a good time, a great experience – the X=Experience.”

We wanted to create an event that was different because we truly believe that as a company, we are different. We wanted the event to convey our unique NetElixir spirit. Our passion. Our core values. Our style of doing things.” – Udayan Bose, Founder and CEO of NetEliir 

After being unable to hold the X=Experience in person last year, we are excited for the chance to host our highly-anticipated event once more.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Throughout the years, we have had the privilege of hearing from some of the greatest minds of marketing, strategy, business, retail, and more, as well as spending time in Albert Einstein’s hometown of Princeton to retrace his footsteps. It is truly an unforgettable experience and a chance to learn the latest in online shopping trends, economic predictions, and marketing strategies and catch up with clients and old friends in an intimate, collaborative setting.

Leslie Lenhart, the Vice President of Marketing at Ulla Popken, speaks about the X=Experience

In 2015, we delved inside the mind of the online customer with Professors David Bell, Adam Alter, and Vishal Gaur, and had a think session with Thomas Harman, CEO, and Caroline Tuan, COO, of Balsam Brands.

We continued exploring what makes the online customer click with the founder of OkCupid, Christian Rudder, the Vice President of Marketing for UPS, Bala Ganesh, and the CEO and Chairmen of Ashley Stewart, James Rhee

The 2017 X=Experience conference marked the 5th anniversary of hosting this event. We had the pleasure of learning about our authentic selves with Professor Sheena Iyengar, diving deeper into data with Jeff Booth of Build Direct, and understanding how to manage growth and profitability in retail with Professor Vishal Gaur during our 2017 event.

We examined how to facilitate innovation with Professors Jerry Wind and Anindya Ghose, as well as discovered the vision behind Grounds for Sculpture with Gary Garrido Schneider, the Executive Director of the Grounds.

In 2019, during our last in-person event for a time, we heard from Professor Jerry Wind on how to rethink innovation, Professor Anindya Ghose on using AI and blockchain to monetize in the digital economy, and Jim Stengel, president of the Jim Stengel group and former Global Marketing Officer of P&G about his experiences and learnings. 

The X=Experience has always been a place where ideas meet the imagination. Surrounded by thought-leaders and innovators against the backdrop of the breath-taking Grounds For Sculpture, it’s almost impossible not to think of revolutionary ideas.

Held at the Awe-Inspiring Grounds For Sculpture

Beyond the caliber of speakers and attendees, what makes the X=Experience stand out is the venue. Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ is arguably one of New Jersey’s best-kept secrets. 

Here, art comes to life for us to interact with and see the world from their perspective. The collection at Grounds for Sculpture is an eclectic mix of educational and engaging pieces that fit into the natural landscape of the grounds. By bringing famous artworks to life in a different medium, such as Forever Marilyn Monroe and American Gothic, we get a chance to see classic icons from a new perspective. And that is the goal of the X=Experience: to see old things anew in order to create something innovative that will inspire our future.

NetElixir’s 8th Annual X=Experience

We cordially invite you to join us for our 8th annual X=Experience: Rethinking Innovation. For the first time in our history, we are hosting a hybrid event and live-streaming the main conference day on Friday, October 1st. Join us as we rethink innovation with:

• Jonah Berger, Professor at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, presenting Contagious: Why Things Catch On
• Chieh Huang, CEO of Boxed.com, presenting The World Changed While I Was Getting Toilet Paper
• Michele Gelfand, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University, presenting The Secret Life of Social Norms

Listen to our keynote presenters as they discuss the essentials for innovation in today’s business landscape, the secret of word-of-mouth marketing, and how to leverage social norms to create an innovative environment. We look forward to rethinking innovation with you!

The post NetElixir’s 8th Annual X=Experience Event appeared first on NetElixir.

But this year is a special year for Albert Einstein (beyond turning 142), as it marks the 100th anniversary of him winning the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Nobel Prize recognized Einstein for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.

A Brief Biography of Albert Einstein

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. — Albert Einstein

Born in Germany in 1879, Einstein went on to become one of the greatest physicists and innovators in our history. Einstein quickly developed a passion for learning, though not in the classical sense. He was a highly inquisitive child and struggled with the strict pedagogy of school throughout his life, often skipping classes and preferring to study independently.

A family friend, Max Talmud, tutored Einstein, introducing him to a children’s science text that inspired Einstein’s thinking and dreaming about the nature of light. Soon, as a teenager, Einstein penned what would become his first major paper, “The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields.”

He excelled at math and physics, scoring exceptionally high on his entrance exam into the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. After graduating, he found a job at a Swiss patent office, which gave him time to focus on furthering the ideas he first conceptualized while in school.

1905 was a stellar year for Einstein, as he had four papers published in one of the best-known physics journals of the era. Two papers focused on the photoelectric effect and Brownian motion. The other two outlined E=MC2 and the special theory of relativity — which, as we all know, became his defining theories. 

He went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his theory on the photoelectric effect. 

A few years later, Einstein moved to Princeton, NJ to teach at Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and to get safely away from the Nazi party rising to power in Germany. Einstein spent the rest of his life in Princeton, teaching and working on a unified field theory to merge the varied laws of physics.

NetElixir’s Unofficial Icon

The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. — Albert Einstein

Although his theories revolutionized the scientific community, Einstein is truly marked by his inquisitive nature. NetElixir has informally adopted him as our icon and role model, to celebrate curiosity and knowledge-sharing. 

Einstein never stopped questioning the world around him and it inspired him to look more closely at how the universe works. Likewise, at NetElixir, we constantly ask ourselves why. We’re not satisfied at just knowing the data and results of our initiatives; we seek to know more, to decipher how and why these results happened the way that they did. By attempting to answer these questions, we can continually better ourselves and improve in the future.

While Einstein was trying to solve how the universe works, we at NetElixir are trying to solve how e-commerce and digital marketing can empower brands to grow and engage more deeply with their customers. 

Our celebration of Albert Einstein’s birthday and Pi day is different this year. However, we still always honor Einstein’s legacy: to maintain a curiosity about the world around us and to never stop learning. Einstein is a giant among men who helped humanity view the world through a different lens and transported the world many, many years forward. We take inspiration from him now to continue moving forward toward a brighter, better future.

“Throughout this one year that we have been away from our office, our inspiration, Albert Einstein, has been holding the fort all by himself. He is patiently waiting for the world to get back to normal and for Team NetElixir to get back to the office and celebrate together,” Udayan Bose, Founder and CEO of NetElixir, says.

Continuing Einstein’s Legacy

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. — Albert Einstein

While we are not in the offices yet, we are still continuing Einstein’s sense of knowledge-sharing. NetElixir is hosting E-Commerce Growth Week, a three-day digital marketing bootcamp. During the week, our solution experts will break down each element of your overall e-commerce strategy from SEO and Content Writing to Web Development and Amazon marketplace.

Developing a cohesive e-commerce business strategy requires seamless integration across all digital elements. Your e-commerce platform impacts your SEO, your content strategy supports SEO, your marketplace presence influences your branding, and so on. Everything is relative, you might say. 

Join us in honoring Einstein’s legacy as we empower your e-commerce growth all week with insights and innovation. Register at https://stage.netelixir.com//webinar/.

E-Commerce Growth Week Agenda:

• Day One, Tuesday, March 23rd
  • Rethinking Your SEO & Content Strategy
• Day Two, Wednesday, March 24th
  • Build a High-Performance E-Commerce Website with NetElixir & Miva
• Day Three, Thursday, March 25th
  • Strategies for Driving Exponential Sales Growth on Amazon Marketplace

References

https://www.biography.com/scientist/albert-einstein

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1921/einstein/facts/

The post The Innovative Legacy of Albert Einstein appeared first on NetElixir.